Photo courtesy of Aurubis AG
Hamburg, Germany-based copper producer Aurubis AG has reported “significantly higher operating earnings before taxes (EBT)” of 185 million euros ($225 million) in the first half of its current fiscal year compared with a 91 million euros ($110.6 million) EBT figure one year ago.
The company credits the 103 percent increase in earnings to “significantly higher refining charges for recycling materials, an increased concentrate throughput, strict cost discipline, high product demand and a higher metal result with a strong increase in metal prices.”
Aurubis also credits the integration of the former Metallo Group smelters in Belgium and Spain for “making positive contributions to the result in particular” in the fiscal half-year ending March 31.
Aurubis CEO Roland Harings says, “Aurubis continues to successfully make its way through the coronavirus crisis. After one year of the pandemic, we can say that its impacts on our result are still minor – despite all of the restrictions in place. We owe this to our employees’ strong sense of responsibility in consistently following the precautions, as well as to the good market environment for companies of the circular economy: our metals and products are benefiting from growing demand from all sectors of the economy.”
Looking forward, the company says it expects the pandemic’s impacts “to have very little effect on the rest of the fiscal year. For copper scrap, the company expects very good supply with a continued high level of refining charges.” The firm says it expects operating EBT of between 270 million euros ($328 million) and 330 million euros ($401 million) for the 2020-2021 fiscal year.